Crimes of Mars - The Lagger & the Hawk (6 of 12)

The Lagger & the Hawk

 

The Fourth Rhyme of Jean Ami

 

-P-

 

A brace of noble starlings, laced in gold,

Stood like a royal squadron in the cold,

That waits upon the signal to be made

That heralds the beginning of a raid �"

 

Then, came that order wildly to fall

Nearby a chicken coop, - In chaos,

 

All!

 

And every slender beak purloined a seed,

According to its wont and vital need

 

-II-

 

Upon this scene, a hawk did cogitate,

And not indifferent to the starlings’ fate,

Gazed like a glutton on their feast below,

And smiled to see such viands on the snow �"

 

For he was almost giddy in the thought

Of how a lesser bird is often caught

When driven by the instinct

 

To survive,

 

It flouts the dangerous Earth

 

To stay alive

 

He waited till just one remained behind,

Then, as is apropos unto his kind,

 

He swooped upon the lagger gracefully

And crushed him with his talons easily -

 

Then ate him as a monster would a goat,

With bloody droplets, dripping from his throat -

 

The starlings’ raid was done,

 

And so was he,

 

And heavily the hawk retook his tree.

 

Thoughts of Camille Du Monde: Entry Six

 

The starlings hungered, and they did eat.

The hawk hungered, and he did likewise.

 

There is no better lesson here than this: Man’s fall precipitated an age when all flesh would needs-be eaten, and in being eaten, all flesh would serve the purposes of life. But underlying this axiom of Earth, there is something that vexes all noble minds - God's grace does not supply salvation in this world, but only in the next, wherein He reigns supreme. Eating is among the most satisfying of our pleasures and the most crucial to our needs, and yet eating is not a right provided by our Lord.

 

Though it is my experience that God will sometimes intervene in Man’s affairs, it is not often done. Therefore, each man hungers when he hungers, suffers when he suffers, and dies when he dies. Yet in his lifetime, a man will see wonders that render his logic useless, and each time that he does, he will observe God’s fingers. But wherefore are we only sometimes shown God’s fingers? And wherefore do we never see his face? Would not a moment beholding God’s face ensure an eternity of faith?